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Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Elvis Presley crypt to be sold in memorabilia auction...

The private
mausoleum crypt in Memphis, Tennessee in which Elvis Presley was first buried
is to be sold at auction.

The lot includes the crypt itself, the right to open
and close the vault for a burial, a memorial inscription and the use of a small
chapel for a service.

Bids are expected to start at $100,000 (£63,781).

Other items in the sale, to be held on 23 and 24 June
in Hollywood, include clothing worn by the guitarist Keith Richards and the
late Amy Winehouse.

Following Presley's funeral at his Graceland home in
August 1977, his body was temporarily entombed in a crypt at Forest Hill
Cemetery.

Around 80,000 people lined the processional route
that Presley's coffin took from Graceland to Forest Hill.

Within two months, both his body and that of his
mother Gladys were moved to a permanent site in the meditation garden on the
Graceland grounds.

According to the Julien's Auctions website,
Presley's original crypt "has remained empty... as a visiting place for
those coming to remember The King".

The Sports Legends and Music Icons sale will be held
at Julien's auction house in Beverly Hills on 23 and 24 June.

Other lots include a robe Winehouse used in her Rehab
video and a ripped T-shirt worn by Richards while playing for the Rolling Stones.